InstagramA community has been left “stunned” by the death of a Scottish teenager who reportedly fell from a hotel balcony in Ibiza.
Law student Emma Ramsay, 19, is reported to have died on Tuesday morning after an accident at a hotel in the San Antonio area of the Mediterranean island.
MSP Monica Lennon, a friend of Ms Ramsay’s family, said people in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire were “desperately sad” over her death.
Ms Ramsay had been head girl at St John Ogilvie High School and was classmates with Ms Lennon’s daughter before going on to study at Strathclyde University.
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland’s Drivetime programme, Ms Lennon, MSP for Central Scotland, said “glowing” tributes had been paid locally to the “lovely and caring” young woman.
“It shows how one vibrant life can touch so many others,” she said.
“People are still in shock and will feel this loss for a long time to come but for her family and especially her parents, people just feel so desperately sad.
“For any parent, it is your worst nightmare.”
In a post on social media, Ms Ramsay’s mother Barbara said her daughter was her “best friend in the whole world”.
She added: “I am going to miss you more than words will ever express.”
In another post, she wrote that the family’s “hearts are forever broken”.
Christina McKelvie, MSP for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse said: “This is a terrible tragedy that has shocked the local community. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Emma.
“The tributes that have poured in from those who knew her well are a testament to just how wonderfully kind, talented and hardworking Emma was.”
‘Rigorous inspections’
Journalist Neil Hesketh from Spanish newspaper Sur in English said the island’s police have concluded initial investigations and are not taking the matter further at this stage.
He said in recent years, San Antonio has seen “a few cases a year” of tourists falling from balconies.
“It’s something the Spanish are particularly concerned about,” he said
“Even down to the British embassy, consulate and tour operators, they’re constantly reminding people of the risks.”
Mr Hesketh added hotel balconies are “very carefully inspected” by Spanish authorities as part of “rigorous” inspections.
Last year, 22-year-old John McKenna from Crosby-on-Eden near Carlisle, Cumbria died after falling from a balcony in San Antonio.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said the department are supporting Ms Ramsay’s family and liaising with Spanish local authorities.
